La La Land

La La Land is a much-awaited film, and it truly is fantastic. The musical has an amazingly talented main cast, consisting of the bonny Emma Stone and the swoon-worthy Ryan Gosling who are, again, portraying a romantic pair. We become acquainted with Mia and Sebastian, who are aspiring brilliance in the City of Stars, which is arduous for them indeed.

This picture is a wondrous sight to behold: the costumes and scenery are absolutely stunning. While the setting is contemporary, the cinematography is reminiscent of those glamorous and bygone times of movie-making, with its soft lighting and totally effervescent colour palettes. It is most certainly the skies that look amazing. That delicate pinkish-bluish tone you oftentimes find at dusk is consistent throughout La La Land, and it nicely opposes those dark shapes at the forefront.

The choreography is likeable and imaginative, especially at the film’s opening. You definitely notice that traditional Hollywood feeling in the spontaneity of it, and you cannot help but be reminded of Singing In The Rain. Stone and Gosling both proved to be adept at dancing, and their performances are superb. With such grace and elegance, they deserve to be named the Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire of 2016. The arguably sole thing that La La Land fails to achieve is making a musical. The original songs are scarce, but those that do exist are great. City of Stars is going to be your favourite thing to hum for awhile, and it will likely be imagined to that gorgeous dancing-among-the-stars moment at the observatory.

La La Land is funny and frolicsome, but its conclusion is absolutely destructive for your heart. Even so, Damien Chazelle, as its writer and director, made a beautiful homage to the Hollywood of yore.

Kim Varod

La La Land is released nationwide on 13^th January 2017.

For further information about the 60^th London Film Festival visit here.

Read more reviews from the festival here.

Watch the trailer for La La Land here: